ITEM ONE:
Novel #2, the one I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year, is almost ready. I'm half done with the second-to-last edit. (The final edit's just going to be a glorified proofreading.) After that I'm formatting it and e-publishing it for the Amazon Kindle. We'll see what comes of that...it'll be a test case. I'll make sure to properly advertise on this here blog so you can run to your nearest e-reader or tablet and buy it as soon as it's launched. The title will be Mugunghwa: The Wreck of the Rose of Sharon.
ITEM TWO:
Novel #3 is half-finished as well. It has a title, a table of contents, and 51,000 words or so. Nearly ten chapters out of 19 (planned) are complete. As I said earlier, I'm 50% finished with being 66% ready to sign a three-book deal. In case you forgot, Novel #1 and #3 are Books 1 and 2 of my big sci-fi magnum opus. (Novel #2 is historical fiction.)
ITEM THREE:
I got rejected again. Sad day.
Just before I left Korea I submitted a 1,700-word short story (entitled The First Twenty-Five Years) to Daily Science Fiction magazine. After the customary wait, I got an e-mail back. Instead of the usual rejection notice (which I'd received for the seven or eight other stories I'd sent to DSF), this e-mail was different. Here's what it said:
Andrew,
We have good news and we have bad news. The good news is that your story has made our second round, rarified company that more than 90% of submissions do not reach. While half or more of our second round stories will not ultimately see publication under the DSF rocket, this story has reached the final go/no-go before launch.
The bad news--and I promised you some bad news--is that it will take us time to make that final decision. Expect an additional two weeks or so, but don't be surprised if it's a month from today. Thanks for your continued patience, and thanks for sending us this worthy submission.
- Daily Science Fiction Staff
Wow, huh? You may imagine the palpitations my heart went through as I read those words. After all these months and months of writing crap stories and languishing in impoverished rejection, I'd finally made the grade. Okay, not "the" grade. "A" grade. I'd gotten past the initial rejection phase. I'd landed myself in the second round of review. Not bad for a beginner, eh?
Unfortunately, about three weeks later, I wound up with the same old rejection slip in my inbox. Ah well. At least I know now the caliber of writing I must put out in order to be considered for publication. And I've assayed the market and know what kind of stories they like. Now I can sit back, think of a good idea, stick in all the ingredients, and hopefully get accepted next time around.
Wish me luck...
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